Iran Stops Trial In the Murder Of a Journalist

By NAZILA FATHI

Published: July 19, 2004

TEHRAN, July 18—
Iran's judiciary on Sunday abruptly ended the trial of an intelligence agent charged with killing an Iranian-Canadian photojournalist and said a verdict would come later. Lawyers for the victim's family left the court in protest, saying the court had not heard their witnesses' testimony.

The photojournalist, Zahra Kazemi, died July 10, 2003, from a brain hemorrhage caused by a blow to her head while in custody, an investigation team appointed by President Mohammad Khatami concluded. She was detained after she took photos outside Evin prison in Tehran, notorious for holding political dissidents.

The man charged with the ''semi-intentional murder'' of Ms. Kazemi is a secret agent, Muhammad Reza Aghdam Ahmadi. If found guilty, he faces up to three years in prison.

But the legal team representing Ms. Kazemi's family, led by the Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi, accused a judiciary official, Muhammad Bakhshi, of having inflicted the fatal blow and the judiciary of illegally detaining Ms. Kazemi.

''It is clear that the person who inflicted the blow is free and the person who has not done so is standing trial and will later be acquitted, and the whole crime will be covered up,'' one of the lawyers, Muhammad Seifzadeh, told journalists outside the court on Sunday.

Ms. Ebadi told journalists that Mr. Aghdam Ahmadi's lawyer had identified the real killer but that the court refused to pay attention. ''We will use all legal methods to restore the rights of our client,'' she said. ''We will continue until our last breath.''

Mr. Aghdam Ahmadi's lawyer told the court Sunday that a witness had said Mr. Bakhshi inflicted the blow, the ISNA news agency reported.

On Saturday, Ms. Kazemi's mother, Ezzat Kazemi, testified in court that she had been forced to consent to a quick burial of her daughter. She said it was clear that her daughter was tortured because her breasts had been burned and a hand and foot had been broken.

The case has strained relations between Iran and Canada. Last week, Canada said it was recalling its ambassador from Tehran in protest after Iran refused to allow Canadian observers to attend the trial. On Sunday, the Canadian ambassador, Philip MacKinnon, as well as European diplomats and foreign journalists, tried to enter the court but were told they did not have the necessary permission.

Canada has accused Tehran's hard-line public prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi, of responsibility for Ms. Kazemi's death, saying he was aware of her detention. Mr. Mortazavi and several officials who had investigated Ms. Kazemi's death were among the people Ms. Ebadi had asked the court to summon to testify.